Cary Library Corner

12 years ago

    Editor’s note: The following article is a synopsis written by staff members and volunteers of the Cary Public Library highlighting one of the suggested reading books, as determined by their staff.
    Depression + Drought + Greedy Farming Practices = “The Dust Bowl”, a sobering reminder by authors Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns of the disasters that plague people without forward-thinking goals.

    In history classes we hear of the phenomenon and think of how it might have been…
    Perhaps you even saw the television documentary on which this book is based; however until you study the pictures, read the stories of actual survivors, and think honestly about being in that situation the real impact doesn’t hit.
    Imagine losing children to “dirt pneumonia” deaths, wind-whipped dirt clouds a mile high lasting several days when light was blocked, losing one’s life’s work to forces so much beyond your control. It must have been a sturdy, determined people who would turn their plates and glasses over until food was placed in them to avoid the dust. Housekeepers waged a losing battle with shovels against  dirt seeping through the smallest opening which was taped against the air movement.
    April 14, 1935 was termed Black Sunday for its destructive display of wind-driven dirt.
    Leaving the area left many thousands no better off without homes, food, jobs, hope. President Franklin D. Roosevelt battled resolutely for the restoration of the farmland and more than one scientist emphasized better farming practices to restore the soil and land lost. Short profiles of some survivors are at the back of the book detailing their lives after the depression.
    Even such a sobering book as this one expands our desires to learn more about how to keep our environment intact for ourselves and our children. Check out- Expand-Learn: Cary Library has so much to offer.
    The Cary Public Library is open Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 532-1302.